Marco Rubio Hits Ted Cruz and Donald Trump for Debate ‘Theatrics’

Sen. Marco Rubio reacted to the news that Donald Trump was skipping the Fox News debate on Thursday–and Ted Cruz’s challenge to Trump for a “mano-a-mano” debate in Iowa before the caucuses.

“These kinds of theatrics by Ted Cruz and Donald Trump are an entertaining sideshow, but they have nothing to do with defeating Hillary Clinton,” Rubio said in a statement to Breitbart News.

Rubio said he would remain focused on uniting Republicans instead of contributing to the debate fiasco.

“I’m going to stay focused on uniting the Republican party so we can defeat Hillary Clinton and turn the page on eight years of liberal failure,” he said. “We don’t have time for these kinds of distractions.”

Echoing his campaign message in the last days before the Iowa caucuses, Rubio pointed out that it was time to get serious about a presidential candidate. He is currently polling in third place, below Trump and Cruz.

“America is heading the wrong direction, and people are right to be angry about it. But it’s not enough just to be angry,” he said. “The next president has to have a real plan to turn the page on Obama and his disastrous policies, and they have to be willing and able to sell that plan to the American people. That’s why these debates are so important.”